ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

5 Diet Keys You Need To Know And Use

Updated on February 11, 2015
Perspycacious profile image

For other articles by this Author/Photogrpher you can go to HubPages at Perspycacious and select friom a wide variety of subjects and forms.

1, 2, 3, 4, and 5! That's it. Now practice (makes perfect.)

Remind yourself by reviewing these five keys each day until you master them.
Remind yourself by reviewing these five keys each day until you master them. | Source

Count them on your five fingers and use the keys.

Here are the five essential keys for maintaining a normal, healthy weight:

1. Proper Nutrition

2. Proper Rest

3. Proper Hydration

4. Proper Exercise

5. Proper Stress Level.

Nutrition is proper, if you are getting (a) needed calories, (b) limiting "empty" calories most typically found in sugars, (c) eating less per meal or snack and eating those smaller portions more often to help maintain energy levels, and (d) proper if you are avoiding eating at times when your body is simply craving needed hydration, especially water.

Rest needs vary for each individual, but proper rest occurs best in darkness which is sufficiently dark for the healthy pineal gland to produce adequate amounts of the natural antioxidant melatonin; rest periods should be long enough, generally 6-8 hours for adults and 9-11 hours for infants, children, and youth. Rest is more critical for the brain than for the body. Proper rest allows the healthy brain to organize and retain the experiences and acquired knowledge of the day, while providing the needed time for the body to recuperate.

Hydration also varies widely from individual to individual but is based in part on the level of one's physical activity, height, weight, Body Mass Index (commonly referred to simply as BMI), and the temperature and stresses of one's surroundings. The body being largely liquid (some estimate as much as 74% water,) maintaining the body's natural levels of liquid is key to energy, removal of toxins, and one's ability to think clearly and concentrate. A body not properly hydrated sends thirst signals which are often misinterpreted as hunger signals, though added calories are not an adequate substitute for proper hydration.

Exercise can be a natural part of the day's routine activities, or it can be added to those activities. People who spend much of their day sitting (in school, at work, even at home, etc.) will need the added activity to obtain sufficient exercise to maintain bone density, muscle strength, tight and healthy skin, and the body's systems for eliminating toxins and waste. while reducing the individual's risks of diabetes, cancer, heart and circulatory diseases. For healthy individuals, the daily intake of calories should closely match the daily using up of calories. Excess calories are stored as fat; too few calories limit the full functioning of the body which must draw the needed calories from its own stored fats or less-essential body systems.

Stress is the fifth important key to healthy weight management, though genetic, medical, and psychologiclal factors can also impact weight management and can call for professional medical evaluation and possible intervention. Unusual stress rapidly depletes the body's complex of the B vitamins which are involved in many of the body's known enzyme processes, including those essential to deriving needed nutrients from one's foods. The body also stores energy as fat in order to be prepared to cope with future stress, and it aids this process by craving and consuming extra calories. The only normal way to cope with this result of stress is to reduce one's stress factors. This can be done by being better prepared, more organized, and by incorporating time for yourself, quiet times, if you can, and hobbies, meditation, yoga, and other enjoyable exercise and activities.

Useful Tips

1. Be aware that sugars can provide quick energy, but that energy (even if sustained by more sugars) still leaves the body craving needed nutrients. Those needed nutrients generally come with their own calories. If sugars have met the day's need for calories, those extra calories from the good foods will be stored as fat for later use.

2. Proper hydration is easier when water and juices are more easily available, so put a source of such liquids within reach of the locations you most frequently pass, work, or relax at. Also, realize that consuming cool and cold liquids helps to burn calories as the body warms the cooler liquids internally to the average body temperature of 98.6 Fahrenheit.

3. Making a one week list of foods and beverages consumed, rest obtained, liquids you consume,, exercise, and stresses experienced, can help you and a professional see how "on track" you are toward lifelong healthy weight management, and suggest any helpful changes.

4. Any consulted professional, once the genetic, medical, and psychological variables have been taken into consideration, will likely determine how your BMI compares to your recommended BMI. Then they can chart a path with you which can add energy, peace, longer and happier life to those added quality years ahead.

5. Last of all: review this list from time to time and give yourself a grade for your achievements in reaching toward your goals. Doing so is "an open book quiz" and, while you at least keep tabs on your progress, no other person need know.

If it's worth doing (and it is!) just do it.


© 2012 Demas W. Jasper All rights reserved.

How important is healthy weight management to you?

The holidays of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and The New Year typically cause me to gain 5-10 pounds.

See results

Scales aren't just for fish.

In music the scale is important, so also in maintaining a healthy weight.
In music the scale is important, so also in maintaining a healthy weight. | Source

Given any seasonal "ups" and "downs"

Would you say your pre-holidays weight is "back to normal" by the end of February?

See results
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)